One Star
by pandamanda09
Summary: Completed. A DP One Shot. Danny's seventeen, goes to war, dies and ends up in the Ghost Zone. It takes a chat with one ghost to convince him that he shouldn't be there now.


"One Star"  
_A Danny Phantom one-shot._

**Disclaimer**: I do not in any way own the characters from Nickelodeon's, _Danny Phantom_.  
**Claimer**: The mysterious ghost _is_ mine, however.

**Author Note(s)**: I'm not a very good one-shot writer. I was bored one night when I wrote this, so it may not be perfect.

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When word reaches the United States about a massive ghost attack, many of the countries top ghost fighters went to battle. Daniel Fenton, included. The attack lasted two years. By the end, less than twenty-five percent of the leaving fighters returned. Daniel was not one of them. He died in battle, three months earlier, protecting and saving his friends. At age seventeen, he died young…

_I never realized how much I already knew about being a ghost. My experiences as a half-ghost kept me from freaking out as I lounged helplessly in the Ghost Zone, still in my human form, but dead._

_Many of the ghosts who passed me by, paid no attention as I lingered about. None of them feared me, as none of them knew me. I had the feeling that, if I were in ghost form, they would, but not me in human form._

_Occasionally, though, some would hesitate and watch me. Curious. Every time, I smile and they float away. Ignoring me. _

_I wanted to go home. Back to Amity Park. Back to my family. Back to my friends. I've been here for three months, and I was homesick. _

_Since that day in battle, that day I was shot down by the ghosts, I felt lonely. _

_Before I slipped away forever, I remembered seeing my fighter-friends take a stand, trying to protect me from any more blows. They succeeded, but my first injury turned out to be what took my life. _

_I then came here, once my life on Earth was finished._

_I never got to say my final goodbyes to everyone in battle, or at home. Around the realm, I've heard talk that there were many new arrivals. None of them were my friends. They were lucky they lived. The rest of us, the ones who died, were not._

_As I floated in place, thinking, one of the ghosts flew up to me._

"_Whatcha doin', kid?" he asked me. _

"_Just…thinking," I honestly said._

_He cocked his head. "'Bout what?"_

"_The past, my family, friends--my human life."_

"_What's your name, kid?"_

_I shook my head. I wasn't in the mood to talk to this ghost. I turned around and put my back to him. _

"_Come on, kid. You can trust me. What's your name?"_

"_Danny," was all I said. _

_I didn't want him fear me, as a Fenton or as Phantom. I just wanted him to leave._

_He put a ghostly hand on my right shoulder. "I can help."_

_I sighed. "Help with what?"_

"_Get you back home."_

"_How?" I still remained with my back to him._

"_Through the portal located 'bout half a mile away."_

_I closed my eyes, and slowly turned around. He was smiling._

"_Why do you want to help me? I'm just like all the other ghosts around here."_

_He shook his head gently, "No, you're not. You're different, Danny. I can tell; we all can tell. Your death has yet to come."_

"_What do you mean?"_

_I turned my head away to think. Nothing came. I turned back to face him, but, he disappeared._

"_What the heck? Where'd he go?" I mumbled to myself. _

_I searched the perimeter, but found no signs of him. _

_Just…a piece of paper._

_I read it to myself:_

"_**Go home. You're time has yet to come."**_

_Again, I didn't know what it meant. How could this not be my time? I died in battle. People die in battle. It's not like humans are on a list of set deaths…_

_Or are they?_

_I thought about this. Unsure of what to agree with, thinking back to my latest accident._

_The portal._

_I survived when I could have easily been killed. I became half-ghost and half-human. I was then only half dead. _

_My time wasn't up._

_But how could I have died in battle if my time wasn't due? Surely it is. I'm dead, a complete ghost._

_Yet, it's not my time._

_I recall one of the soldiers. He was hit, same as I was. He didn't die. Time later, he was hit again, but this time, he fell._

_Could it be, if hit by ghost weaponry, a human is killed half by half? Other's, I've seen, has the same death. They were hit once and survived; they were hit twice and died._

_I was already half dead, making me more vulnerable to death. The one shot I received killed my human half, turning me completely ghost._

_My time isn't finished._

_Quickly, I dived to the portal. I swerved between the other ghosts, apologizing each time, and forgiven each time. I found that, in the after-life, not many ghosts hold a grudge against other ghosts. We're forgiven quickly._

_However, humans and ghosts are different. My ghost enemies hated me, as the half-ghost, half-human boy. Now that I'm one of them, I haven't been bothered yet. Something I rather enjoyed._

_The portal seemed farther away than I thought, but I reached it. I didn't stop and flew through it. Luckily, I was alone in the lab._

_The lab. The Fenton's lab._

_I was home. _

_I turned invisible and flew up the steps. No one in the kitchen. I flew to the living room; no one there either. I went upstairs and checked every room. _

_The house was empty._

_I flew back to the kitchen, hoping to find something. I searched for a note; listened to the answering machine for a message. Something to help me find my family._

_Then, I looked at the frig door. Sitting under a magnet, I found a piece of paper. Apparently, my body was brought back and set for burial. Calling hours were yesterday, and the funeral tonight. At eight sharp._

_I checked the clock. Seven thirty. _

_I glanced back at the paper for a location address. I was being buried at the Amity Park Cemetery, the Honor side. _

_I had to stop them. If I'm not supposed to be dead, and if my body is buried, I'd be trapped and confused._

_As quickly as I came, I flew out of the house. It was seemingly dark outside and I raced against time, to stop the funeral and save myself._

_I reached the cemetery within a minute. I noticed half the town waiting for eight o'clock. I saw my coffin, black with an American flag on top, sitting in a wagon pulled by a beautifully brushed, patriotic white mare._

_My mare. Snow Cloud._

_I picked her as my horse during battle. She survived, thankfully. She must have been brought back with my body, and given to the town. I was the only Amity Park resident to go to battle. _

_I put away my battle thoughts, concentrating on the funeral. I floated above everyone, invisible. I was afraid I'd spook the mare. _

_I spotted my parents, my sister, and my friends. They stood together, sad and upset. I lowered my head, feeling their pain. I wanted to be alive just as much as they wanted me to._

_Then, the town clock struck eight and the event began. I realized I didn't have much time. I've been to a funeral before and the coffin top is only opened once. I had to make my move then, before the top is shut and sealed tightly…forever._

_I waited for a while, a half hour I think, before the time I patiently waited for came. A new challenge presented itself to me: how am I going to pull this off?_

_I looked up at the sky. It was already dark…with one star already shinning. I took to account the old rhyme I've heard, hoping it would work._

_Star light, star bright…_

_Mom walked up to see me for the final time, tears in her eyes._

…_first star I see tonight…_

_Dad followed her. They stepped down together._

…_I wish I may…_

_Jazz walked up next._

…_I wish I might…_

_She stepped down and Tucker proceeded._

…_have the wish…_

_He slowly left, with Sam as the final person. She walked up, carefully, to say her goodbyes. _

…_I wish tonight._

"_Goodbye, Danny," she whispered, and began to retreat._

_I stopped her dead cold. "Goodbye, Sam."_

_Instantly, she looked back at me. My human eyes open, my human mouth smiling. _

"_Danny? Is that you?" she asked, surprised._

_I rose up. Everyone jumped back in alarm. I was still smiling._

_I couldn't resist, and it felt so good to say it, "In the flesh."_

_Happily, she hugged me. It felt wonderful to be human again. _

_Tucker, Jazz, and my parents all rushed up to see me. All shocked._

"_We thought you were gone. How is this possible?" Tucker asked and poked me._

_I flinched. My battle bruises were still there…and hurting. Yet, I was happy._

_I don't think I could explain them all I've been through, so, I used what I've come to realize today._

"_It wasn't my time."_


End file.
